Bloodlines (Season 2, Episode 7)

Picture this: A bound and terrified woman, a burning torch, the satanic whoosh of flames as they engulf the screaming victim. It could be a brutal execution straight from darkest history, but this woman's death is a Boston PD case. When Jane and Maura learn that the charred corpse belongs to Helen Downey, a practicing Wiccan, they wonder if a modern-day witch hunter is at work, burning his victims alive at the stake.

Clues lead Jane and Maura to a cellar with human bones, blood and bizarre symbols, evidence that Helen was practicing Wiccan rituals of healing, love, protection ... and evil. Now the others in her coven feel threatened. Are they the witch hunter's next victims? Salem's horrifying history takes center stage in the investigation, and when a séance to bring back the spirit of Helen Downey turns shocking, even seasoned detective Korsak freaks out, much to Frost's amusement.

Meanwhile, the Rizzoli family is stunned when Frankie's ex-girlfriend Teresa waltzes back into town with a daughter she claims is Frankie's. Frankie accepts the child as his, but the ever-suspicious Jane demands DNA proof, and she'll go to any lengths to get it.

And that’s where my favorite scene comes. At the tumultuous Rizzoli family dinner with Teresa, the insults fly, old knives come out and Jane turns into a notorious sippy-cup thief. This is one family gathering you don't want to miss.

Rizzoli & Islesdove into its New England roots this week, as "Bloodlines" provided us witches burned at the stake and one who sat across the dinner table. Let's start with the witch with the cheap dye job.

Check out the resthere.
________________________________________________________TheExaminer.com's recap/review is up:

Jane and Maura investigate the death of a self-proclaimed witch in this episode. While this is certainly not a new topic for a crime show to tackle, it is always an entertaining one. Overall, the case was well thought out up until the end.

Witches and women that rhyme with “witches” kept our heroes guessing on this week’sRizzoli & Isles. When a woman is burned at the stake in Salem, the team are quickly led to a local coven that appears to be targeted by a killer. Meanwhile, Frankie’s ex-girlfriend returns to Boston with a surprise...

Aaand a blond is being burned at the stake for, I can only assume, having such a righteously bad outfit and wig. Seriously that looked like someone permed a wig and left it in their attic for twenty years so it got that gummy feeling old Barbie doll hair gets.

At the cop diner Rizzoli and Isles are having breakfast. A cop judges Rizzoli for eating rabbit pancakes, but her girlfriend finds them adorable. I just paused the show so I could spend ten minutes coming up with a vibrator joke. Nothing good came of it but I wanted you to know I took the effort.

[B+K] Let me give you an example of deductive reasoning (this is a crime show after all):

Salem. Leads us to:

Witches. Lead us to:

Willow and Tara!

Thus, with this week’sRizzoli & Islesepisode “Bloodlines” set in Salem and focusing on some contemporary witch hunts, the potential for gay was off the charts. And, oh, how they delivered. (As Willow - or at least, Vamp Willow- will tell you: the only thing gayer than witches are vampires. Consider this a “Helloween Special” suggestion, TNT!)

It’s morning in Boston and Det. Jane Rizzoli and Dr. Maura Isles are having breakfast together because, well, that’s what they always do. They wake up, roll over, say good morning, get dressed (or not, they could conceivably roll around a little more – ahem), have breakfast and solve horrible grisly murders. Like someone getting burned to death at the stake. Yuck. But you know what’s yummy? Bunny pancakes.

Mama Rizzoli has made her Janie bunny pancakes while Maura gets an egg-white omelet. Jane does not appreciate the cuteness of said bunny pancake and promptly cuts off its ears and gives them to – who else? – Maura. They are seriously the oldest, marriedest couple I have ever seen on television.

With fabulous screen caps, great snarkiness, and some of the best subtext review out there for R&I, you really need to head over there right now and check it out.

JH: The story of Jane with Hoyt (a serial killer played by Michael Massee) is her dark, Achilles heel that you've gone back to frequently in the series. Is that going to be a thread throughout the entire run?

JT: Actually, something very cool is going to happen at the end of the summer with Hoyt. All I can tell you is that it was a cathartic episode to write because I've also been living with Hoyt for two full years. Something interesting happens there.

Were you one of the lucky ones to receive a pair of earrings in the mail yesterday?

A little while back, the Rizzoli & Isles TNT people ran a promotional on their facebook page, found here, where you could sign up to win a limited edition pair of handcuff earrings. It seems the winners have been found, and were surprised by a UPS delivery at their doors yesterday.

If you were one of the winners, tell us! We want to know.

If you weren't, chin up. Janet is encouraging all of us to follow the facebook page with promises of more chances to win cool swag. So, if you're not following them on facebook, go there quickly and do so. You never know what might happen. :-)

"Rebel" was an episode just chalked full of yummy goodness. So, instead of our normal habit of posting reviews and recaps individually, we decided on posting with a bunch of links for this one, and we may continue this trend for next week's episode. Trust us on this one. You want to go check out everything we're posting here. You'll be laughing, giggling, and nodding your head in the affirmative. Would we steer you wrong?

theofficegossiptheory tumblr scored a hit as the gave us a check list rundown of 2x06. Some highlights are:Jane smiling about Maura’s coffee specifics

Maura nerding out and fangirling over a guy and Jane trying to distract her with coffee

Jane making fun of Maura’s trigonometry

Jane not wanting her wife to get into a tree because she looks “rediculous”

Go check out the rest of it here.
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The Examiner.com has a review up:

Maura: “I always wondered what it would be like to have a mother who cut the crusts off my sandwiches.”

Jane: “Annoying.”

Brief but they have some nice pic from the episode. Go check it out here.
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Fempop.com has their review (with lovely screen caps) up:

It’s Boston so it was kind of inevitable that we’d get a Revolutionary War reenactment at some point. I’m just sad Rizzoli and Isles aren’t dressed up as redcoats. Also one of the reenactors died. Ooops.

Elsewhere Rizzoli is watching sports why her girlfriend and her mom make croissants. Does…does Rizzoli live there now? Isles is freaking out in her Isles way because her mother is coming to town. Her mother has never seen her place and is staying in her guest house. Which means Rizzoli’s mom is moving in with Rizzoli for the foreseeable future. She’s thrilled.

Go check out the rest of it here. Subtexty!
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NiceGirlsTV.com's review/recap:

When did historical reenactments become so hip? Last week Warehouse 13 had a plot involving Civil War reenactors, this week Rizzoli & Isles has a plot involving Revolutionary War reenactors. Yay history!

Check the rest here.
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Butch In Progress has a great subtexty review/recap up:

[B+K] Girls, I’m sorry, but I refuse to write a subtext recap this week.

You need a reason motive? Well, because there was no subtext. None!

There was some maintext, some plain text, and a whole lotta gay text. (Which might explain, why this has so far been my favorite episode in Season 2. It’s either the gay, or the funny, or both.) So let’s just go with that ‘gay text recap’ from now on, ok? We’re not kiddin’ anyone anyway…

Mothers in general seemed to be an overall theme tonight. First there’s Jane and her mom – Jane trying to pretend she’s nothing like the woman and complaining about how clingy she is when we all know that she’s totally like Angela and would hate it if she didn’t hover all the time. Then there’s Maura and her mother – who are also quite alike but without all the clinginess. Jane and Maura each say that they wish they had the other’s mother but I like how in the end, Maura’s mother tried to get closer to her daughter and even joined them all at a bar.

Don't miss the rundown of their 'fav bits'. Check the rest here.
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On a side note about the title of this episode- "Rebel Without a Pause"...

We thought is sounded vaguely familiar so, despite Dr. Isle's protest should she find out we did this, we hit up wikipedia. This is what we found:

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

So, it’s another normal day at Dr. Maura Isles’ house. She is making fresh croissants in the kitchen with Mama Rizzoli while Det. Jane Rizzoli chows down on snacks and watches sports in the living room. I keep forgetting, is this a cop show or a show about an old married couple? Clearly the answer is both.

What did everyone think of last night's episode? How do we feel about Constance Isles? Do we feel we know Maura better now? What do we think about the subtext streaming in from all sides during this episode? Who was too drunk to make it back to their bed after playing the drinking game last night?

8. Best Striptease:Rizzoli & Isles runs subtext deep into the ground when Maura tells her unfashionable pal that her pantsuit is inappropriate for her date at a fancy-schmancy restaurant. So Maura takes matters into her own hands — with a little help. "Unzip me," she tells Jane as she slinks out of her curve-hugging magenta dress, explaining that they're going to swap outfits. And that they do — with Maura even taking a scalpel to her expensive heels to make comfy peep-toes for Jane — before standing back to admire their efforts. "You look sexy," Maura says. Oh, just get a room already!

Bill O'Reilly recently took a short break from "The O'Reilly Factor" to film his guest appearance on the TNT crime series "Rizzoli and Isles." The Fox News host admitted that acting was more difficult than his usual gig as a pundit.

Speaking to "Entertainment Tonight" on set, O'Reilly said, "I'm used to just me and some pinhead guest and I'm pounding that person but now I've gotta be listening to the nuance of the lines." He joked, "I could've done four 'Factors' in the time it takes to do one dopey scene on this program."

He revealed that he will play himself on the show, where he will appear opposite actresses Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander. He joked, "See nobody is as obnoxious as me. They couldn't find an actor to play me." Harmon called O'Reilly's performance "fantastic," joking, He's very very good at playing himself." When asked how it was working with O'Reilly, Sasha Alexander joked, "It's just a regular Tea Party." Zing!

But the segment wasn't all lighthearted jokes. O'Reilly also took a crack at the nation's lawmakers, who he called "pinheads" for "playing politics with the welfare of the American economy."

Tess Gerritsen is coming back again this year to sit on the Rizzles Couch and chat. Last year, she talked about the show based on questions we gathered from you and sent her way. This year, we want to chat with her about her books, the last tour, her career, and such.

So, if you have a question for Tess, send it our way by posting it in the comments section below. We'll be taking questions for the next two days.

Friday, August 12, 2011

Jane and Maura are at it again! It's time for trivia. So, put on your thinking caps (not the ones with the beers on either side. Jane only approves those for ball games), pull out your detective kits, and get ready.